Synchronous sensing of inductor current in a buck converter control circuit

ABSTRACT

A sense resistor is placed in series with an output capacitor of a buck converter. The buck converter operates in a discontinuous mode such that there is a dead time in each switching cycle. A control circuit senses a voltage across the sense resistor and thereby generates a first signal I CS . The control circuit detects an offset voltage in I CS , where the offset voltage is the voltage of I CS  during the dead time in a first switching cycle. The control circuit level shifts the entire I CS  by the offset voltage, thereby generating a second signal I CLS . I CLS  has the same waveform as the waveform of the inductor current. In a second cycle, I CLS  is used to determine when to turn off the main switch and when the start of the dead time occurs. I CLS  and the offset voltage are used together to determine when to turn the main switch on.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The described embodiments relate generally to buck converters, and to control circuits for controlling buck converters, and to related methods.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

One of the common power converter topologies is that of a step-down DC-to-DC buck converter. In controlling the switching of the main switch in such a buck converter, current sensing is typically employed. For example, the controller may detect a peak inductor current and a load current and then based at least in part on these detections may adjust the timing of the switching of the main switch. To detect the peak inductor current, a current transformer may be used where the secondary winding outputs a current signal whose magnitude is proportional to the magnitude of the current signal in the primary. Accuracy of this type of current sensing will vary with parameters of the transformer. To measure load current, a small resistance may be placed in series with the load of the buck converter, thus providing a voltage signal that is proportional to load current. Alternative ways of monitoring and controlling buck converter operation are sought.

SUMMARY

A sense resistor is placed in series with an output capacitor of a step-down DC-to-DC buck converter. A control circuit of the buck converter operates the buck converter in a discontinuous mode such that in each switching cycle of the buck converter the inductor current increases to a peak, then decreases, and then for a “dead time” remains substantially constant at a zero value. A control circuit of the buck converter senses the voltage drop across the sense resistor and thereby generates a first signal I_(CS). The first signal I_(CS) represents the flow of current through the output capacitor throughout the switching cycle. The control circuit detects an offset voltage present in this first signal I_(CS), where the offset voltage is the instantaneous value of the voltage signal I_(CS) during a point in the dead time of a first switching cycle. The control circuit level shifts the entire first signal I_(CS) by this detected offset voltage, thereby generating a second level-shifted signal I_(CLS). The second signal I_(CLS) has a voltage waveform that is substantially the same as the waveform of the inductor current, yet the inductor current flowing through the inductor is not being directly sensed. The amplification gain in generating the first signal I_(CS) and the gain in generating the detected offset voltage are set such that the resulting second signal I_(CLS) is usable by the control circuit as a fairly accurate indicator of the instantaneous inductor current as the inductor current varies up and down over a switching cycle. The control circuit uses the second signal I_(CLS) to determine when to turn off the buck converter's main switch in a second switching cycle, and to determine when the start of the dead time occurs in the second switching cycle. The control circuit also uses the second signal I_(CLS) in combination with the detected offset voltage to determine when to turn on the main switch at the end of the second switching cycle. In one example, the control circuit includes a mass-produced general purpose microcontroller and a special purpose companion buck controller integrated circuit. All the steps set forth above can be carried out by the controller integrated circuit, or various ones of the steps can be performed by the microcontroller and controller integrated circuit working together.

The method described above of detecting the voltage signal across the sense resistor and generating the first signal I_(CS), of detecting the offset voltage in that signal during a “dead time”, and of level shifting the voltage signal I_(CS) by the offset voltage amount so as to generate a second signal I_(CLS) (whose waveform is substantially the same as the waveform of the inductor current) need not be performed using analog amplifiers, analog offset detector circuitry, and analog level-shift circuitry. In one embodiment, the method is performed using digital circuitry by digitizing the voltage signal across the sense resistor to generate a stream of digital values throughout each switching cycle, and doing the remaining steps (of detecting the offset voltage and of level-shifting) in the digital domain.

Further details and embodiments and methods are described in the detailed description below. This summary does not purport to define the invention. The invention is defined by the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, where like numerals indicate like components, illustrate embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a buck converter system in accordance with one novel aspect.

FIG. 2 is a waveform diagram that illustrates an operation of the buck converter system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a more detailed circuit diagram of one specific embodiment of the controller integrated circuit of the buck converter system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a more detailed circuit diagram of the 6-bit ADC in the controller integrated circuit of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a more detailed circuit diagram of the hardware lookup table circuit in the controller integrated circuit of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method in accordance with one novel aspect.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to some embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a step-down buck converter system 1 in accordance with one novel aspect. System 1 includes a 110 volt RMS AC power source 2, a step-down transformer 3, a bridge rectifier 4-7, an input capacitor 8, a step-down buck converter 9, and a load 10. The sinusoidal 110 volt AC signal V_(IN) is reduced to a sinusoidal signal of smaller voltage amplitude, and this sinusoidal signal of smaller voltage amplitude is full wave rectified by the bridge rectifier 4-7 into a +12 volt rough DC voltage V_(RECT). Buck converter 9 includes a main switch 11, a free-wheeling switch 12, an inductor 13, a large output capacitor 14, a smaller output capacitor 15, a sense resistor 16, a controller integrated circuit 17, a microcontroller integrated circuit 18, and components 19-23, 81. The components 19-23 draw power from conductor and node 24, and supply the integrated circuits 17 and 18 with a 3.3 volt DC supply voltage. There are other ways of powering the integrated circuits. The components 19-23 are presented here as just one example.

The main switch 11 in this case is an N-channel field effect power transistor whose drain terminal is coupled to the input node 24 of the converter, and whose source terminal is coupled to a switching node 25, and whose gate terminal is coupled via conductor 26 to a SW terminal 27 of the controller integrated circuit 17. A first end 28 of the inductor 13 is coupled to the switching node 25. A second end 29 of the inductor 13 is coupled to an output node and terminal 30 of the converter. The free-wheeling switch 12 in this case is a diode, but in other embodiments it may be a transistor or other type of switch that is controlled to be conductive at the appropriate times. The cathode of the diode is coupled to the switching node 25, whereas the anode of the diode is coupled to a ground node and terminal 31 of the converter. A first terminal of the large output capacitor is coupled to the output node 30 of the converter, and a second terminal of the large output capacitor is coupled to the ground node 31 of the converter. The smaller output capacitor 15 and the sense resistor 16 are coupled together in series between the output node 30 and the ground node 31 as illustrated. A first input terminal 32 of the control circuit is coupled to one lead of the sense resistor and a second input terminal 33 of the control circuit is coupled to the other lead of the sense resistor. The microcontroller 18 and the control circuit 17 are coupled together via terminals and conductors as illustrated.

FIG. 2 is a waveform diagram that illustrates an operation of the buck converter system 1 of FIG. 1. The upper waveform labeled I_(L) represents the current flowing through the inductor 13 and to the output node 30. The middle waveform labeled I_(C) represents the current flowing from the output node 30 and to the capacitor circuit 34. The waveform labeled I_(OUT) represents the current flowing out of the converter from the output node 30. The lower waveform labeled I_(CLS) represents a synthesized level-shifted version of the I_(C) signal as described in further detail below.

Two switching cycles are illustrated in FIG. 2. The first switching cycle extends from time T1 to time T4. The second switching cycle extends from time T4 to time T10. In the first cycle, the main switch 11 is closed at time T1 and current begins increasing in the inductor. The current flows through the main switch, and through the inductor, and to the output node 30. The main switch is then turned off, and the inductor current peaks at time T2. The inductor current then decays from time T2 until time T3. During the decay time, the main switch is off. Current flows from the ground node 31, up through the diode 12 to switching node 25, and from node 25 through the inductor 13, and to the output node 30. From time T3 to time T4 the inductor current is fairly constant at a zero value. Assuming a relatively small load and a relatively large output capacitor capacitance, the output current I_(OUT) is assumed to be fairly constant throughout the switching cycle. The waveform labeled I_(OUT) in FIG. 2 is therefore drawn in simplified form as a straight line. The time in a switching cycle when the inductor current is substantially constant and substantially zero is referred to here as the “dead time” or the “discontinuous” time. There is one such “dead time” in each switching cycle. The controller integrated circuit 17 adjusts the duration of the dead time from switching cycle to switching cycle in order to control the amount of power supplied to the load and in order to control the voltage on the output node 30 so that the output voltage I_(OUT) remains a constant 5 volts DC. If the load is light, then the duration of the dead time is increased, whereas if the load is heavy then the duration of the dead time is decreased.

In order to determine how to control the duration of the dead time, the magnitude of the load current I_(OUT) is detected or determined. By examining current flow into and out of node 30, it is noted that I_(L) is roughly equal to the sum of I_(C) and I_(OUT). Because it is the controller integrated circuit that controls the main switch to turn on in a switching cycle, the controller integrated circuit can sense or determine the magnitude of the current I_(C) immediately before or at the time the main switch is turned on. Because the resistance of sense resistor 16 is very small, the current flow I_(CS) through the small capacitor 15 is directly proportional to the current flow I_(CL) through the larger capacitor 14. The voltage drop across the sense resistor is therefore indicative of the overall capacitor current I_(C). The relationship between a change in the voltage drop across the sense resistor and a corresponding change in the capacitor current I_(C) can be calculated, and is therefore known. In this way, the DC magnitude of the current I_(C) is measured (measured indirectly by measuring I_(CS)) at the time when the main switch is closed at time T4. This detected voltage is then added as an offset to the detected I_(CS) waveform, thereby generating a level-shifted signal I_(CLS) (“I_(C) Level Shifted”) whose waveform matches, or substantially matches, the waveform of the I_(L) inductor current. The correspondence between a voltage on the I_(CLS) waveform and a corresponding current of the I_(L) waveform is known, so the current through the inductor 13 is effectively detected or sensed without there being any transformer current sensing or other current sensing of the current in the inductor circuit branch leading into the output node. The amplification gain in generating the first signal I_(CS) and the gain in generating the detected offset voltage are set such that the resulting second signal I_(CLS) is usable by the control circuit as a fairly accurate indicator of the instantaneous inductor current as the inductor current varies up and down over a switching cycle. Because the capacitance of the small capacitor 16 is much smaller than the capacitance of the larger capacitor 14, and because the resistance of the sense resistor 16 is small, the power dissipated by the sense resistor is minimal. In one example, the capacitance of the smaller capacitor 15 is one tenth the capacitance of the larger capacitor 14, and the resistance of the sense resistor 16 is ten milliohms. The resistance through the small capacitor at 100 kHz is about twenty two milliohms.

Once the level-shifted signal I_(CLS) has been generated, it is analyzed by the controller integrated circuit 17 and/or the microcontroller integrated circuit 18 to determine how to control the switching of the main switch 11. The level-shifted signal I_(CLS) is a voltage signal, whose waveform is indicative of the waveform of the inductor current I_(L) as described above. In the second switching cycle illustrated in FIG. 2, the controller integrated circuit 17 compares a reference voltage V_(REF) to the level-shifted signal I_(CLS). The controller integrated circuit detects when the signal I_(CLS) first exceeds the voltage V_(REF) at time T5, and in response the controller integrated circuit deasserts the signal SW thereby initiating the turn off of the main switch. After a delay the main switch turns off, the signal I_(CLS) peaks at time T6, and the signal I_(CLS) begins decreasing. Next, the controller integrated circuit monitors the I_(CLS) signal to determine or detect the beginning of the “dead time”. In one example, the controller integrated circuit 17 compares a first voltage (0.4 times V_(REF)) to the signal I_(CLS). Simultaneously, the controller integrated circuit also compares a voltage of half that magnitude (0.2 times V_(REF)) to the signal I_(CLS). The controller integrated circuit detects when the signal I_(CLS) drops below the first voltage (0.4 times V_(REF)) but is still above the second voltage (0.2 times V_(REF)). The signal I_(CLS) then drops further. The controller integrated circuit detects when the signal I_(CLS) drops below the second voltage (0.2 times V_(REF)). The controller integrated circuit determines the amount of time TD1 between these the two detections, and then determines when an equal amount of time TD1 has elapsed after time T8. The controller integrated circuit 17 determines the start of the “dead time” to be when the equal amount of time TD1 has elapsed after time T8.

In a first example, the controller integrated circuit outputs a signal SDT (“Start of Dead Time”) to the microcontroller that indicates when the start of the dead time is as determined by the controller integrated circuit in this way. The controller integrated circuit also digitizes the detected magnitude of the I_(C) offset, and sends that digital information as a multi-bit signal and value I_(CO) (“I_(C) Offset”) across a serial communication link to the microcontroller. The microcontroller then determines a desired dead time duration TD2 starting at the start of the dead time as signaled by the controller integrated circuit. The desired dead time duration TD2 is a function of the magnitude of the I_(C) offset as that value is communicated to the microcontroller. When the microcontroller determines that the dead time has expired, the microcontroller sends a trigger signal TRIG to the controller integrated circuit. The trigger signal TRIG is received on a UC TRIG IN terminal of the controller integrated circuit and causes the controller integrated circuit to turn on the main switch. The next switching cycle then starts.

In a second example, the controller integrated circuit 17 does not need the microcontroller 18 to signal it when the dead time duration TD2 has expired, but rather the controller integrated circuit 17 itself determines when the dead time duration TD2 shall expire. The controller integrated circuit adjusts the dead time duration TD2 from cycle to cycle as a function of the magnitude of the I_(C) offset. In one specific example, the controller integrated circuit 17 includes a down counter. The down counter starts counting down at the determined start of the dead time. The down counter starts counting down from an initial count value. When the count of the down counter reaches a count of zero, then the down counter outputs a trigger pulse AUTO TRIG that causes the main switch to be turned on. This signal is referred to as an “auto trigger” signal because the controller integrated circuit itself triggers the turning on the main switch to initiate the next switching cycle, and does so without the help of the microcontroller. A hardware lookup table circuit within the controller integrated circuit supplies one of a plurality of initial count values to the down counter, where which particular initial count value it is that is supplied to the down counter is determined by the magnitude of the I_(C) offset. If the I_(C) offset is relatively large, then the hardware lookup table circuit supplies the down counter with an initial count value that is relatively small so that the dead time duration TD2 will be relatively small. If the I_(C) offset is relatively small, then hardware lookup table circuit supplies the down counter with an initial count value that is relatively large so that the dead time duration TD2 will be relatively large.

In one particular embodiment, during a start up time of the buck converter system the controller integrated circuit auto triggers itself from switching cycle to switching cycle. When the main switch turns on in each switching cycle is controlled by the controller integrated circuit, and when the main switch turns off in each switching cycle is also controlled by the controller integrated circuit. After an amount of time of operating in this “auto trigger mode”, the microcontroller disables auto trigger operation of the controller integrated circuit by deasserting an enable signal AUTO TRIG EN. The AUTO TRIG EN signal is received onto the controller integrated circuit via an AUTO TRIG EN terminal. If the AUTO TRIG EN signal is asserted then the auto triggering mode is enabled, whereas if the AUTO TRIG EN is not asserted then the microcontroller can trigger the controller integrated circuit to turn on the main switch. In the present case, the auto trigger mode is disabled. The microcontroller supplies the trigger signal TRIG to the controller integrated circuit. The trigger signal TRIG is received onto the UC TRIG IN terminal of the controller integrated circuit. The trigger signal TRIG triggers the controller integrated circuit to turn on the main switch at the proper time in each switching cycle. When the main switch turns is therefore controlled by the microcontroller, whereas when the main switch turns off is handled by the controller integrated circuit. The microcontroller monitors the load current by receiving the serial multi-bit value I_(CO) from the controller integrated circuit via the serial link.

FIG. 3 is a more detailed diagram of one specific example of the controller integrated circuit 17 of FIG. 1. The controller integrated circuit 17 has terminals including a power terminal 35, a ground terminal 36, the R1 terminal 32, the R2 terminal 33, the UC TRIG IN terminal 37, the AUTO TRIG IN terminal 38, the AUTO TRIG EN terminal 39, a V_(REF) input terminal 40, a UART TX terminal 41, a UART RX terminal 42, a clock signal input terminal 43, the main switch drive SW terminal 27, the start of dead time SDT terminal 44, and the AUTO TRIG OUT terminal 45. The voltage drop across the sense resistor 16 is present between the R1 and R2 terminals as mentioned above. An analog amplifier 46 amplifies this signal and outputs a first signal I_(CS) (I_(CS) a voltage signal whose magnitude is proportional in a known way to the overall capacitor current I_(C)). The resulting amplified signal I_(CS) is supplied to an offset detector circuit 47. A sample and hold circuit of the offset detector circuit 47 is controlled by the SW signal to sample during the dead time and to begin holding when the SW signal transitions high at the beginning of a switching cycle. The sample and hold circuit therefore detects the magnitude of the first signal I_(CS) at a time immediately before the main switch turns on. A level shift circuit 48 receives the first signal I_(CS) and the S/H OUT signal from the offset detector, and level shifts the signal I_(CS) by the S/H OUT amount, thereby generating a second signal I_(CLS). In FIG. 3, the second signal I_(CLS) is a level-shifted version of the signal I_(CS) and is a scaled version of the overall capacitor current signal I_(C). The waveform of the level-shifted signal I_(CLS) matches the waveform of the current flowing through the inductor 13. The second signal I_(CLS) is supplied to a first detector circuit 49. A reference voltage V_(REF) is also supplied to the first detector circuit 49. The first detector circuit 49 detects when the signal I_(CLS) has risen so that it exceeds the V_(REF) value. When the first detector circuit detects that I_(CLS) exceeds V_(REF), then the first detector circuit 49 drives a digital logic low signal onto conductor 50 and onto the asynchronous reset input of flip-flop 51 of the main switch turn on circuit 52. The resetting of flip-flop 51 causes the signal SW on terminal 27 to transition to a digital logic low, and this in turns the main switch 11 off. The triangle symbol 53 represents a conventional bootstrap high-side driver circuit. Additional terminals and additional external components necessary for the operation of the bootstrap high-side driver circuit are known in the art and are not illustrated in FIG. 3.

The turning off of the main switch causes the magnitude of the second signal I_(CLS) to start decreasing from its peak. Comparator 54 of the second detector circuit 55 detects when the second signal I_(CLS) has dropped below a first voltage (0.4 times V_(REF)). The first voltage (0.4 times V_(REF)) is generated from V_(REF) by a resistor voltage divider 56-58 and is supplied onto the noninverting input lead of comparator 54. When the signal I_(CLS) falls below the first voltage (0.4 times V_(REF)), the comparator output signal transitions high, and this clocks a digital high into the flip-flop 59. V_(REF) can be supplied from an external source via VREF IN terminal 40. Alternatively, if this V_(REF) terminal 40 is grounded by an external connection, then a V_(REF) from an internal voltage reference source 60 is used to drive the resistor voltage divider. Reference numeral 61 denotes an analog multiplexer.

Comparator 62 detects when the second signal I_(CLS) has dropped below a second voltage that is half of the first voltage detected by comparator 54. In this case, the second voltage detected by comparator 62 is 0.2 times V_(REF). When I_(CLS) drops below this second voltage (0.2 times V_(REF)), the comparator output signal transitions high, and this clocks a digital high into the flip-flop 63.

The up/down counter 64 is initially cleared when the voltage of I_(CLS) is higher than V_(REF). Now that the voltage of I_(CLS) is decreasing and is below V_(REF), the up-down counter 64 is in a cleared state, but it is not being cleared, and it is not enabled to count because the signal on its CEN input lead is not asserted. If the voltage of the signal I_(CLS) drops below the first voltage (0.4 times VREF) but has not yet dropped below the second voltage (0.2 times V_(REF)), then the NAND gate 64 outputs a low signal. The low signal asynchronously sets the flip-flop 65, and the setting of the flip-flop 65 causes the count enable signal CEN to be asserted. The UP/DN control signal to the up-down counter 64 is low, so the up-down counter 64 starts counting up from zero. This continues for a period of time TD1 until the comparator 62 detects that I_(CLS) has dropped below the second voltage (0.2 times V_(REF)), at which time the NAND gate 64 outputs a digital high. The digital high is supplied to the UP/DN control of the up-down counter 64, so the up-down counter switches to count down. After another amount of time TD1, the counter count reaches zero. When the count reaches zero, the ZERO output signal of the up-down counter is asserted to a high digital logic level. The transitioning of the ZERO signal to a digital logic high causes the flip-flop 65 to clock in a digital logic low, which in turn drives a digital logic low onto the count enable input CEN of the up-down counter and disables the counting of the up-down counter. The ZERO signal as output by the up-down counter 64 is driven onto the SDT terminal 44, and from that terminal is supplied to an input terminal of the microcontroller 18. By monitoring this SDT signal, the microcontroller 18 detects the beginning of the “dead time”. A clock signal CLK is supplied to the up-down counter 64 and to a down counter 66 via clock signal input terminal CLK 43. The clock signal may be generated by an oscillator in the microcontroller.

When the SDT signal was low before the start of the dead time, a digital logic high signal was supplied onto the asynchronous load input LD of the down counter 66 of a dead time counter circuit 80. The down counter 66 therefore was held in a state in which a 12-bit value from a HW LUT 67 was being asynchronously loaded into the down counter 66. The ZERO output of the down counter 66 therefore was also held low. When the SDT signal transitions high at the start of the dead time, the asynchronous load signal being supplied onto the LD input lead of the down counter 66 is removed. At this point, the down counter 66 begins counting down from the initial 12-bit value. After an amount of time TD2, the down counter has counted down to where the count is zero. When the count reaches zero, the ZERO output signal of the down counter is asserted high. This causes the count enable signal supplied onto the CEN input lead of the down counter to be removed, and the down counter stops counting. The low-to-high transition of the ZERO signal output by the down counter 66 is captured by a low-to-high transition detector circuit involving components 68-70. The low-to-high transition detector circuit outputs a high pulse of the signal AUTO TRIG. The high pulse of the signal of the AUTO TRIG signal is supplied via AUTO TRIG terminal 45 and a board level conductor 71 to the AUTO TRIG IN terminal 38. As explained above, if the AUTO TRIG EN signal on the AUTO TRIG EN terminal 38 is asserted, then the high pulse of the AUTO TRIG signal is supplied to the clock input lead of the flip-flop 51, thereby setting the flip-flop 51 and causing the SW signal to transition high. The transitioning high of the SW signal causes the main switch to be turned on, and another switching cycle starts.

The offset value of the I_(C) signal as detected by the offset detector 47 is the signal S/H OUT in FIG. 3. This S/H OUT signal is indicative of the magnitude of the output current I_(OUT) as explained above in connection with FIG. 2. This S/H OUT signal is digitized into a 6-bit digital value by analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 72, and this 6-bit value is communicated to the microcontroller as a multi-bit digital value I_(Co) via a UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter) 73 and TX terminal 41 and a board level conductor. The microcontroller receives the 6-bit value I_(CO). By monitoring the I_(CO) values received from the controller integrated circuit, the microcontroller monitors the magnitude of the output current I_(OUT).

FIG. 4 is a more detailed diagram of one specific example of the ADC 72 of FIG. 3. ADC 72 is a flash converter that includes a resistor divider 74, a set 75 sixty-four comparators, and an encoder 76.

FIG. 5 is a more detailed diagram of one specific example of the hardware lookup table circuit (HW LUT) 67 of FIG. 3. The HW LUT 67 includes twelve 64:1 multiplexers 77. Each multiplexer input lead is coupled either to a digital logic high signal line 78, or to a digital logic low signal line 79. How the twelve first input leads of the multiplexers are coupled to the high and low signal lines determines the 12-bit output value that will be output if the 6-bit ADC OUTPUT value received onto the HW LUT is 000000. Similarly, how the twelve second input leads of the multiplexers are coupled to the high and low signal lines determines the 12-bit output value that will be output if the 6-bit ADC OUTPUT value received onto the HW LUT is 000001, and so forth. The HW LUT effectively stores sixty-four 12-bit values. Which value it is that is output by the HW LUT is determined by the incoming 6-bit ADC OUTPUT value.

In the circuit of FIG. 3, the ADC 72 and the HW LUT 67 together operate to supply a 12-bit value onto the DIN input leads of the down counter 66, where the particular 12-bit value supplied is a function of the magnitude of the signal S/H OUT. If the offset detector 47 detects a relatively large I_(C) offset (which corresponds to a relatively large I_(OUT)) then the ADC and HW LUT supply a smaller 12-bit value to the down counter 66, whereas if the offset detector 47 detects a relatively small I_(C) offset (which corresponds to a relatively small I_(OUT)) then the ADC and HW LUT supply a larger 12-bit value to the down counter 66.

FIG. 3 is a simplified circuit diagram of a specific example of the controller integrated circuit 17. The complete circuit actually includes a small amount of addition circuitry that ensures that the on time of the main switch does not exceed a predetermined time in any one switching cycle. The HW LUT is loaded such that the dead time in each switching cycle is of at least of a predetermined duration.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method 100 of controlling a buck converter in accordance with one novel aspect. The buck converter is operated (step 101) in a discontinuous mode such that in each switching cycle the inductor current increases to a peak, then decreases, and then is substantially constant and zero for a “dead time”. A voltage drop across a sense resistor is sensed (step 102) thereby generating a first signal I_(CS). The sense resistor is in series with an output capacitor of the buck converter. An offset voltage in the first signal I_(CS) is then detected (step 103), where this offset voltage is the voltage of the signal I_(CS) during the “dead time”. The signal I_(CS) is then level shifted (step 104) by the amount of the detected offset voltage, thereby generating a second level-shifted signal I_(CLS). The second level-shifted signal I_(CLS) has the same waveform as the waveform of the current flowing in the inductor. The second level-shifted signal I_(CLS) is used to determine (step 105) when in a second switching cycle to turn off the main switch of the buck converter. The second level-shifted signal I_(CLS) is used to determine (step 106) when the start of the dead time occurs in the second switching cycle. The second level-shifted signal I_(CLS) and the detected offset voltage are used to determine (step 107) when to turn on the main switch at the end of the second switching cycle.

In a preferred embodiment, all of these steps 101-107 are performed by an inexpensive controller integrated circuit that is a companion integrated circuit for a high-volume production and highly silicon-area-optimized general purpose microcontroller integrated circuit. The controller the integrated circuit comprises no digital processor that fetches and executes any processor-executable instructions from any memory. Due to the microcontroller integrated circuit being produced in high volumes for other applications and due to the microcontroller integrated circuit being a highly silicon-area-optimized general purpose microcontroller, the cost of the overall control circuitry can be advantageously low. The absence of a current sensor in the inductor current path allows the cost of the overall control circuitry to be further reduced, and simultaneously allows fast detection of overload conditions and correspondingly fast overload protection shutdown.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with certain specific embodiments for instructional purposes, the present invention is not limited thereto. Accordingly, various modifications, adaptations, and combinations of various features of the described embodiments can be practiced without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of controlling a buck converter, wherein the buck converter comprises a first output node, a second output node, a main switch that is coupled to a switching node, a free-wheeling switch that is coupled between the switching node and the second output node, an inductor that is coupled between the switching node and the first output node, and an output capacitor circuit, wherein the output capacitor circuit comprises a capacitor and a resistor, wherein the capacitor and the resistor are coupled in series between the first output node and the second output node, wherein in a first portion of a first switching cycle there is current flow in the inductor whereas in a second portion of the first switching cycle there is substantially no current flow in the inductor, and wherein in a first portion of a second switching cycle there is current flow in the inductor whereas in a second portion of the second switching cycle there is substantially no current flow in the inductor, the method comprising: (a) using an analog amplifier to amplify a voltage signal between a first input terminal and a second input terminal thereby generating a first analog signal, wherein the voltage signal is a voltage signal across the resistor of the output capacitor circuit during the first and second switching cycles, wherein the first analog signal is proportional to a current flow through the resistor; (b) using an offset detector to detect an offset voltage in the first analog signal, wherein the offset voltage is a voltage that is proportional to the voltage of the first analog signal in the second portion of the first switching cycle; (c) using a level shift circuit to level shift the first analog signal by the offset voltage thereby generating a second analog signal, wherein the second analog signal is a level-shifted version of the first analog signal; (d) detecting when the second analog signal exhibits a first characteristic during the second switching cycle; (e) in response to the detecting of (d) deasserting an first output signal onto a first output terminal, wherein the deasserting of the first output signal causes the main switch to turn off during the second switching cycle; (f) detecting when the second analog signal exhibits a second characteristic during the second switching cycle; and (g) in response to the detecting of (f) asserting a second output signal onto a second output terminal; (h) receiving an input trigger signal onto a third input terminal, wherein the input trigger signal is received during the second switching cycle; and (i) in response to the receiving of (h) asserting the first output signal, wherein the asserting of the first output signal causes the main switch to turn on at the end of the second switching cycle, wherein (a) through (i) are performed by an integrated circuit, wherein the analog amplifier, the offset detector, the level shift circuit, the first input terminal, the second input terminal, the third input terminal, the first output terminal, and the second output terminal are parts of the integrated circuit.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting in (d) of when the second analog signal exhibits the first characteristic is a detecting of when the second analog signal exceeds a reference voltage.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting in (f) of when the second analog signal exhibits the second characteristic is a detecting of when the second analog signal stops decreasing and levels out to a constant value at the beginning of the second portion of the second switching cycle.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the detecting in (f) involves: (f1) detecting when the second analog signal decreases below a second reference voltage; (f2) in response to the detecting of (f1) generating first information; (f3) detecting when the second analog signal decreases below a third reference voltage; and (f4) in response to the detecting of (f2) generating second information; and (f5) using the first and second information to determine when the second analog signal stops decreasing and levels out to the constant value at the beginning of the second portion of the second switching cycle.
 5. A method of controlling a buck converter, wherein the buck converter comprises a first output node, a second output node, a main switch that is coupled to a switching node, a free-wheeling switch that is coupled between the switching node and the second output node, an inductor that is coupled between the switching node and the first output node, and an output capacitor circuit, wherein the output capacitor circuit comprises a capacitor and a resistor, wherein the capacitor and the resistor are coupled in series between the first output node and the second output node, wherein in a first portion of a first switching cycle there is current flow in the inductor whereas in a second portion of the first switching cycle there is substantially no current flow in the inductor, and wherein in a first portion of a second switching cycle there is current flow in the inductor whereas in a second portion of the second switching cycle there is substantially no current flow in the inductor, the method comprising: (a) using an analog amplifier to amplify a voltage signal between a first input terminal and a second input terminal thereby generating a first analog signal, wherein the voltage signal is a voltage signal across the resistor of the output capacitor circuit during the first and second switching cycles, wherein the first analog signal is proportional to a current flow through the resistor; (b) using an offset detector to determine an offset voltage in the first analog signal, wherein the offset voltage is a voltage that is proportional to the voltage of the first analog signal during the second portion of the first switching cycle; (c) using a level shift circuit to level shift the first analog signal by the determined offset voltage thereby generating a second analog signal, wherein the second analog signal is a level-shifted version of the first analog signal; (d) detecting when the second analog signal exhibits a first characteristic during the second switching cycle; (e) in response to the detecting of (d) deasserting a first output signal onto a first output terminal, wherein the deasserting of the first output signal causes the main switch to turn off during the second switching cycle; (f) detecting when the second analog signal exhibits a second characteristic during the second switching cycle; and (g) in response to the detecting of (f) starting a timer, wherein the timer asserts a timer output signal an amount of time after the starting of the timer in (g); and (h) in response to the asserting of the timer output signal asserting the first output signal, wherein the asserting of the first output signal in (h) causes the main switch to turn on at the end of the second switching cycle, wherein (a) through (h) are performed by an integrated circuit, wherein the analog amplifier, the offset detector, the level shift circuit, the timer, the first input terminal, the second input terminal, the third input terminal, the first output terminal, and the second output terminal are parts of the integrated circuit.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the amount of time in (g) is a function of the offset voltage.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the amount of time in (g) is a nonlinear function of the offset voltage.
 8. The method of claim 5, wherein the timer is a variable timer, wherein the amount of time in (g) is inversely proportional to the offset voltage such that a smaller offset voltage results in a larger amount of time and such that a larger offset voltage results in a smaller amount of time.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the variable timer comprises an analog-to-digital converter, a lookup table circuit, and a counter, wherein the analog-to-digital converter supplies a multi-bit digital signal to the lookup table circuit, and wherein the lookup table circuit supplies a multi-bit count value to the counter, and wherein the counter outputs the timer output signal.
 10. The method of claim 5, further comprising: (i) receiving an auto trigger enable signal onto a third input terminal of the integrated circuit, wherein if the auto trigger enable signal is asserted then the timer output signal triggers the asserting of the first output signal at the ends of switching cycles whereas if the auto trigger enable signal is not asserted then a signal received on a fourth terminal of the integrated circuit triggers the asserting of the first output signal.
 11. The method of claim 5, further comprising: (i) outputting the second analog signal onto a second output terminal of the integrated circuit.
 12. The method of claim 5, wherein the integrated circuit comprises no digital processor that fetches and executes any processor-executable instructions from any memory.
 13. An integrated circuit comprising: a first input terminal; a second input terminal; a first output terminal; a second output terminal; a sequential logic element, wherein when the sequential logic element is in a first state then the sequential logic element asserts an output signal onto the first output terminal, wherein when the sequential logic element is in a second state then the sequential logic element deasserts the output signal on the first output terminal; an analog amplifier that amplifies a voltage signal between the first input terminal and the second input terminal thereby generating a first analog signal; an offset detector that detects an offset voltage in the first analog signal, wherein the offset voltage is a voltage of the first analog signal at a time when the sequential logic element switches from the second state to the first state; a level shift circuit that level shifts the first analog signal by a voltage that is proportional to the detected offset voltage thereby generating an second analog signal; a first detector circuit that determines when the second analog signal exhibits a first characteristic and in response causes the sequential logic element to be put into the second state; a second detector circuit that determines when the second analog signal exhibits a second characteristic and in response asserts a second output signal onto the second output terminal; and a third input terminal, wherein a trigger signal received onto the third input terminal causes the sequential logic element to be put into the first state, wherein the integrated circuit comprises no digital processor that fetches and executes any processor-executable instructions from any memory.
 14. The integrated circuit of claim 13, wherein the integrated circuit is a part of a buck converter, wherein the buck converter includes an inductor, and wherein the second analog signal has a waveform that substantially matches a waveform of current flow in the inductor.
 15. The integrated circuit of claim 13, wherein the offset detector is a sample and hold circuit, wherein the sample and hold circuit samples the first analog signal during a time period preceding the sequential logic element switching from the second state to the first state, and wherein the sample and hold circuit begins holding at a time that roughly coincides with the time the sequential logic element switching from the second state to the first state.
 16. The integrated circuit of claim 13, further comprising: a counter that starts counting in response to the second detector circuit determining that the second analog signal exhibits the second characteristic, wherein the counter outputs a timer output signal that causes the sequential logic element to switch from the second state to the first state.
 17. The integrated circuit of claim 13, further comprising: a third output terminal; and a counter that starts counting in response to the second detector circuit determining that the second analog signal exhibits the second characteristic, wherein the counter outputs a timer output signal onto the third output terminal.
 18. The integrated circuit of claim 13, further comprising: means for asserting an auto trigger out signal an amount of time after the second detector circuit determines that the second analog signal exhibits the second characteristic, wherein the amount of time is a function of the offset voltage such that a smaller offset voltage results in a larger amount of time and such that a larger offset voltage results in a smaller amount of time.
 19. The integrated circuit of claim 13, further comprising: means for receiving an enable signal and for causing a selectable one of either the trigger signal received on the third input terminal or the auto trigger out signal to cause the sequential logic element to be put into the first state, wherein which one of the trigger signal and the auto trigger out signal it is that causes the sequential logic element to be put into the first state is determined by the enable signal.
 20. A method of detecting an operation of a buck converter, wherein the buck converter includes a main switch, an inductor, an output capacitor, a sense resistor, and a controller circuit, wherein the sense resistor is disposed in series with the output capacitor, wherein a current flow through the inductor has a waveform, the method comprising: (a) sensing a voltage drop across the sense resistor thereby generating a first signal; (b) determining a magnitude of the first signal during a dead time of a switching cycle of the buck converter; (c) level shifting the first signal by an amount thereby generating a second signal, wherein the amount is based at least in part on the magnitude determined in (b), wherein the second signal has a waveform that substantially matches the waveform of the current flow through the inductor; (d) outputting a first digital signal indicative of when the second signal exhibits a first characteristic; and (e) outputting a second digital signal indicative of when the second signal exhibits a second characteristic, wherein (a) through (e) are performed by the controller circuit. 